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5 Characteristics of Excellent CTA Buttons

A call-to-action (CTA) button can be one of the most important elements on your site. A webpage that has a strong CTA button will generate more conversions than a page with a weak one. It’s just that simple.

What are CTA Buttons?

CTA buttons are the clickable buttons used on both your website and on your landing pages to guide users towards your goal conversion. CTA buttons have a very specific goal: to get your website visitors clicking and completing a conversion. They can vary in style depending on your goal conversion and webpage type.

When it comes to creating a compelling CTA, it’s important to stick to the tried and true button format. While hyperlinks have their place in a webpage or blog, CTA buttons are buttons. Simply put, the call-to-action is so essential to your business that you should not attempt to make it anything but a button.

Generally, a good CTA button will have:

- A defined colour, shape and border- Compelling text- Clean, crisp edges (they are usually rectangles, but don’t have to be)A logical placement

We'll go more in-depth about these characteristics below.

2. They Have Persuasive Copy

Copy is arguably the most important aspect of a CTA button. While font, color and size play a significant role in an effective button, copy plays a much larger role in determining whether or not users decide to click.

CTA buttons will only give you a limited amount of space, so it’s important that your copy will convey to a user why they should click on your button. You need to use that space to tell them exactly what they can expect if they take action.

That being said, you shouldn’t panic if the copy on your CTA button isn’t a mind-blowing phrase. Sometimes, even the simplest words make the biggest impact. In fact, there are many effective CTA buttons that will use the following verbs at the start of their copy.

They are:

- Start- Learn- Join- Connect- Discover- Explore- Create- Watch

Why are these so effective? These verbs imply action, and, in context, provide a clear benefit to the reader. Of course, the copy that follows is important, too — but the verb is what tells your audience what they can accomplish by clicking your button.

3. They Are Eye-Catching

While colour isn’t the most important element of a CTA button, it’s still necessary. When it comes to the colour of your CTA button, it’s important to keep in mind that it should contrast with the other elements on the page. The whole idea behind a CTA button is to draw readers’ attention.

For example, if you want users to click on your CTAs, your buttons must stand out. That’s why making your button extremely eye-catching is one of the easiest, most effective ways to make that happen. By eye-catching, we don't mean something that becomes an eye sore, but rather clean and crisp. Essentially, your CTA button should perfectly (and tastefully) complement your website's theme.

4. They Are Strategically Placed

It’s all about location. Where you place your call-to-action can directly impact its performance. As you design your pages to lead users to your buttons, you should also aim to place the buttons close to the previous action. In others words, your users’ eyes should naturally flow to the CTA button when necessary. By keeping user behaviour and flow in mind when determining the placement of your CTA, you’ll make it even easier for those visitors to take action.

5. They Actually Work

The most important thing about an effective CTA button is that it actually works. There’s nothing more embarrassing than launching a new webpage with an accompanying CTA button only to find out that the button is “un-clickable,” or that the clickable button takes you to a 404-error page. That’s why it’s important to – before you promote the webpage – test the button out. We can't stress this enough. A faulty CTA button can be of detriment to your conversion rates.